The Justice Ministry's police conduct investigation unit has filed criminal charges against a policeman from the Israel Police station in the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim for allegedly urinating in the face of a bound Palestinian at the station.

According to the indictment, which was filed several weeks ago, the policeman, Ya'akov Ben-Nissim Cohen, urinated on the Palestinian, Mohammed Warani, in the station's restroom.

The filing of the indictment for abuse came on the orders of the High Court of Justice in February after Warani filed a petition with the court challenging the Justice Ministry's decision to close the file against Cohen, even though under interrogation Cohen had admitted some of the allegations against him.

According to the indictment, the incident occurred in 2007, when Cohen was working as a detective at the station. That night, November 6, Warani, and another Palestinian, both of whom were from the West Bank town of Al-Eizariya, adjacent to Ma'aleh Adumim.

While Warani was handcuffed and blindfolded, Cohen led him to the police station restroom, the indictment states, and sat Warani on a toilet seat in a narrow bathroom stall and kicked the detainee's legs in an effort to close the stall door. After not managing to close the stall, Cohen allegedly climbed up on a ledge to close the door and then proceeded to urinate in Warani's face.

Under interrogation, Cohen initially denied the allegations against him but when told that his DNA had been found on Warani's clothing, Cohen admitted to "an unusual incident," the indictment alleges.